The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) believes it has been banned because parade bosses don’t want a gay and lesbian group affiliated with the Catholic event.

GLSEN, says they were told by organizer Chris Schulte, “It’s an Irish Catholic parade, and we don’t want any members of the gay and lesbian community to be affiliated."

The Huffington Post reports that city councilman Chris Seelbach told local media that he was informed that GLSEN could not participate in Saturday’s Parade because of the holiday’s Irish Catholic roots.

An anti-bullying organization, GLSEN seeks to eliminate prejudices based on sexual orientation and/or gender affiliation in schools by spreading education and awareness.

Seelbach told CityBeat: “I was floored when I heard the news. You know, the city helps fund this parade, and the city has made it very clear that we will not tolerate any kind of discrimination against gay people.”

GLSEN has also created an online petition in hopes of convincing the organizers to allow them to participate in the parade.

The report adds that a South Boston politician has tried to make the traditional parade more inclusive in her community in Massachusetts.

It says Massachusetts Senate candidate Maureen Dahill started a petition for an all-inclusive St. Paddy’s parade, that would include lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) groups in the South Boston celebration.

Dahill said: “I am proud to be from South Boston. South Boston is a vibrant community. It’s time we showed our neighborhood in its true light and allowed gays and lesbian groups to march in the parade.”